


Five Scenes from the Life of a Father

by athenejen



Category: Heard on the Subway: Talking About Your Gay Son (Blog Post)
Genre: Family, Father-Son Dynamics, Gen, LGBTQ Characters, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Male Friendship, Supportive Parenting, Yuletide, Yuletide 2013, mentions of baseball, mentions of college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 14:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenejen/pseuds/athenejen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie doesn't always completely understand, but he tries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Scenes from the Life of a Father

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kinetikatrue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinetikatrue/gifts).



> The surname Francis comes from the [University of Rochester YellowJackets' version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhlyESuSBwo) of Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me." I didn't follow the video closely, but it did provide inspiration. Oh, and I named Pat's wife Sally, just because.

"Thank God he didn't decide to go to that school in California," Charlie grumbles, grabbing the biggest box in the stack to haul it to the car. "North Carolina's bad enough, but at least we can drive there in a day."

Mary Ann sets down the plastic bin of clothes she'd been carrying next to the car. She pats him on the shoulder. "He'll be fine, Charlie."

"'Course he'll be fine, he's a Francis." Charlie goes back for another box.

"You don't think he would've been happier in California, do you?" he asks Mary Ann a few minutes later. "They're more frou-frou out there, maybe they woulda been more okay with the whole," he waves his hand around, "you know."

Mary Ann gets that look on her face, the one she always gives him when he steps in it but good.

"You know he did his research," she says. "Besides, it's not like he's going to announce it to everyone on the first day of school or something."

"You don't think so?" he asks, surprised. "I mean, he told _us_ , didn't he? I'd'a figured if he could tell us, he'd feel like he could tell anyone."

"Speak for yourself," Mary Ann shot back. But then she smiled. "You're probably right, though. If he could tell you, he could tell anyone."

"That's what I'm sayin'. 'Sides, I thought he already told the head baseball coach. He said there was some kind of group, L-G-B-Q or G-L-B-T or somethin'. They got a website, I looked it up."

"Look at you, all _looking stuff up_."

"I can look stuff up! I just usually have Johnny do it 'cause it's easier."

"Yes, dear." She hands him one last box to shove into the trunk, then pats him on the shoulder again. "I'm sure."

~

"You did _what_?"

"I joined a frat, Dad."

Several seconds pass.

"Dad?"

Charlie makes himself stop thinking about all the college movies he's ever seen and readjusts his grip on the phone.

"You... joined a frat. Beer-drinkin', party-throwin', prank-playin', all that kinda thing?"

"Well, sorta. I mean, _some_ of that kinda thing."

"But... you told them about the... the gay thing? I don't have to come down there and knock some damn fool college boys' heads together, do I?"

John laughs. "No, Dad, it's fine. I mentioned it to one of the guys during Rush, and the Rush Chair and President of the frat both took the time to talk to me about it before I pledged, and they both were like, it's totally cool, we're supportive here, one of the other brothers is gay and one of the guys that graduated last year was bi, it's not a big deal at all. So don't worry, Dad. And a couple of the other guys from the team are brothers, too, and they said it doesn't conflict with the team at all, so don't worry about that, either."

"Well, I wasn't going to until you told me not to!"

"Dad! Seriously, it'll fine. It'll be _good_. The guys are really nice, and you know Mom was getting on me to make some friends outside of the team, because—" he switches to a dead-on impression of Mary Ann's voice, " _you know it's not healthy to only ever think about baseball, John_ , or whatever."

"They're not going to give you any bull for going to those meetings you were talking about, are they? Because those sounded important."

"No, Dad. I think I might even get some of them to come with me. Allies are welcome, you know, and a couple of them sounded interested."

"Oh. Well, okay. Good. Good."

"Yeah, it is. You and Mom can meet the guys next time you come down here. You'll see what I mean. They're really good guys, Dad. I know they'll have my back."

"They'd better. Or I _will_ come down there and knock some sense into 'em."

"I know, Dad. I know."

~

They're on the train headed home for the weekend when Pat nudges him with his elbow.

"Hey, did I tell you? Patrick Junior got into UNC."

"No kiddin'! You think he's gonna go?"

"No fuckin' clue. He's looking at a couple of other places, too. Told him he should go visit, maybe get your Johnny to show him around if you think he'd be up for it?"

"I don't see why not. He's gearin' up for the season starting, so he might be kinda busy, but I bet he could find some time to show Patrick around campus some weekend. Here, I'll write you down his phone number. Tell Patrick to call him and figure out when."

"Sure will. Thanks, Charlie."

"John's had a real good experience there so far. Seems like there are all kinds of kids there, real diverse."

Pat nods.

A couple of minutes go by. Mary Ann wants him to fix the middle bathroom sink this weekend, so he starts planning out what he'll need from the hardware store in his head.

Pat clears his throat. "You know, he still hasn't said anything to us. About, you know. The gay thing."

"You sure he's actually gay? You said he told his sister he might be. Maybe he decided he isn't."

"No, we're pretty sure. Sally said she found a magazine while she was cleaning his room last year. And he and Lucinda never miss an episode of _Glee_."

"Huh. And he still hasn't told you? It's been, what, three years?"

"Yeah, somethin' like that."

"Have you tried, I dunno, hinting?"

"I was gonna, but what in the hell am I supposed to _say_? You know I'm shit at subtle, Charlie. And Sally's just as bad."

"You got a point there. Remember the time she tried to throw me and Mary Ann a surprise anniversary party?"

Pat laughs. "It was damn funny watching you two try not to let on that you knew."

"Maybe you should try watching that show with them."

"Believe me, I tried. Couldn't take more than ten minutes. All that singin' and jazz hands. Goin' through high school once was enough for me, I don't need to see it again."

"If you're really that worried about it, why don't you just _tell_ him? Or have Sally do it. Even if he's not gay, it's not like he'll mind knowing that you wouldn't care if he was.

Pat looks like he just got clocked with a two by four to the back of the skull. "I— Yeah. I guess that's true. I could just... tell him." He starts to smile. "I could just tell him."

~

"I'm here with Charlie Francis, father of John Francis, who was just drafted in the first round by the New York Mets." The pretty lady reporter holds the microphone toward him. "You must be very proud."

"We've been proud of Johnny for a long time," Charlie tells her. "He was always a good kid, a good son. He's been a pretty good pitcher for a while now, too."

She laughs. "I'm sure he has. Now tell me, what has it been like, being the father of the first openly gay player ever drafted?"

Charlie furrows his brow at her for a second, then shrugs. "I dunno. Pretty much like being the father of any other baseball player."

She laughs again, tinkly and sharp. "But surely there are some unique challenges."

"No, I wouldn't say that. Just the usual ones. John's a good kid, always did his homework, got good grades, has good friends, has a boyfriend. Like any other kid.

"Boyfriend?" she asks, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, at least I thought so. Hey, Johnny!" he raises his voice to be heard over the crowd.

John breaks off in mid-sentence where he's talking to a little crowd of media types about fifteen feet away. "Yeah, Dad?"

"You still got that boyfriend you told me and your mother about, right?

John gapes at him, then winces, closing his eyes for a moment. He gives the cameras a pained, embarrassed smile. "Yeah, Dad, I do. But I hadn't really planned to talk about it. Wanted to keep the focus on baseball, remember?"

Oh… right. Whoops. Mary Ann was going to have his head for this one. "Sorry, son." He waves at him to go back to what he was doing, then turns back to the lady reporter. "So, baseball. Johnny started playin' tee ball when he was four, but it was clear pretty fast that what he liked most was throwin' the ball, so once he started wanting to pitch we moved him up to Little League as soon as we could."

She looks frustrated at first, like she wants to interrupt him, but her face smoothes out as he rambles on about John's ascension through the ranks. By the end she's looking interested again, and she asks a couple of actually relevant questions about John's pitching style and his college coach.

Charlie's just thinking he's home free when the lady reporter leans in conspiratorially. "I know we're supposed to focus on baseball, but it's the last question, and I have to ask. What do you know about John's boyfriend?"

Charlie laughs. "I dunno, he won't tell me nothin', so I don't guess he'll tell you, either. Something about respecting his boyfriend's privacy, yadda yadda yadda. But I don't care as long as he's happy, and none of you should care either as long as he keeps playin' good baseball." He grins. "Which I have no doubt that he will. He's a good kid, and he's been playin' good baseball his whole life. We're all real, real proud of him."

~

It's a hot, sticky Saturday in July, and Charlie's sitting in a lounge chair near the grill at the edge of the patio, cold beer in hand, watching his neighbors mill around his backyard. Mary Ann's in the house getting more lemonade, the girls are splashing each other in the wading pool, and Johnny and Patrick Junior are playing catch with the little kids from across the street. The Mets are in the middle of a homestand, so John was able to sneak home for the afternoon.

Pat sits down heavily, clinks his beer bottle against Charlie's, then takes a long drink before saying, "Well, this isn't how I ever thought it would go down, but it works."

Charlie laughs. "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm the father of the first fuckin' openly gay major league baseball player—the only part of that I ever expected to have happen was the father part, and even that was mostly Mary Ann."

They watch Patrick and John smile at each other over the neighbor kids' heads.

"D'you think we should tell them that we know?" Pat asks after a moment.

"Nah, I figure they'll tell us when they're good 'n' ready."

"You're probably right. The last time I jumped the gun he got all embarrassed and his mom was mad at me for a week."

They sit in companionable quiet for a few minutes, drinking their beers.

"Still kinda weird to think that our boys might get married someday, eh, Charlie?"

"Yeah, Pat." Charlie grins. "But you know, not _that_ weird."

Pat grins back, clinking their beer bottles together again. "I'll drink to that."

So they do.

**Author's Note:**

> I wouldn't normally use the phrase "pretty lady reporter," but well, Charlie would. *g* My knowledge of baseball, Long Island, and UNC is superficial at best; apologies if that threw anything off. But I enjoyed trying to capture the essence of the relationships, and I hope that at least some of that came through.


End file.
